PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Wockhardt USA has relocated its regional headquarters to Parsippany, signing a 12,000-square-foot sublease with Clifton, N.J.-based Cortega for turnkey space. The property is located at 20 Waterview Blvd. in the 13-acre Waterview Corporate Center. The 4.5-year lease covers the remainder of Cortega’s existing lease term. John Feeney of Studley represented the tenant in the transaction.
Office
MCLEAN, VA. — Hilton Hotels Corp. has signed a lease with B.F. Saul Real Estate Investment Trust for space in its 323,000-square-foot Park Place II office tower. The property is located at 7930 Jones Branch Dr. in McLean. The 10-year lease secures a third of the LEED Gold-certified building for Hilton’s new global headquarters. Hilton will relocate its operations from Beverly Hills, Calif., during the third quarter.
CHICAGO — Willis Group Holdings, a leading risk management and insurance brokerage firm, has acquired naming rights to Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower, along with taking a significant amount of space with the office building. The 110-story tower, which is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, will now be known as Willis Tower. The company is occupying 140,000 square feet, which it has leased for $14.50 per square foot, within the 3.8 million-square-foot building. The naming rights come at no additional cost. Willis Group is consolidating its Chicago-area operations from five area offices — located at 10 South LaSalle Street, One East Wacker Drive and 222 North Riverside Drive, as well as in Oak Brook and Lombard — and plans to house approximately 500 employees in the new space when it takes occupancy. The move is expected to be complete by late summer. The location will serve as the company’s Midwest regional headquarters.
MINNEAPOLIS — Locally based Welsh Capital recently arranged three loans totaling $11.8 million for Twin Cities commercial real estate properties. The loans include $8.2 million in acquisition financing for an 81,835-square-foot multi-tenant office building; a $2.2 million refinance of a 10,741-square-foot retail property; and a $1.4 million refinance of a 33-unit apartment building. The firm structured secondary financing for the apartment and office building transactions, which typically isn’t utilized in commercial real estate loans. The inclusion of such financing may become more common in order to make deals work in the current economic climate.
OMAHA, NEB. — Q10|Daisley Ruff Financial has arranged $1.42 million in financing for a group of investors purchasing an 11.463-square-foot office building in Omaha. The buyers required that the existing loan underwriting be restructured in order to complete the transaction. The financing was provided by one of Q|10’s correspondent lenders
NEW YORK CITY — Construction has commenced on New York City-based Rosen Johnson Architects’ renovation of the 42-story office property located at 515 Madison Ave. in New York City. The upgrades include a new glass roof on the wrought-iron entrance marquee, enhanced signage, a new reception desk and improved lighting. The lobby has also been enlarged. The property was built in 1931, and Rosen Johnson has blended its new design with the building’s historic features.
RENO, NEV. — Banyan Tree Properties LLC has acquired 3,636 square feet of office space at 6350 Mae Anne Ave, Unit 2 and 3, in Reno. The properties were acquired from Quail North West Phase II LLC for an undisclosed price. Summit Pediatrics is currently occupying the space. Scot Shanks, Dominic Brunetti and Matt Grimes of NAI Alliance represented the buyer in the transaction.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads has signed a 33,619-square-foot lease with Bethesda, Md.-based Clark Enterprises for space in its Capitol View office building. The Class A property is located at 425 3rd St. in Washington. The association will move into the building in September, occupying 15 percent of the property. Scott Frankel, Art Santry and Doug Mueller of CB Richard Ellis’ Washington office represented the landlord. Bruce McNair and Josh Hartman of Grubb & Ellis’ Washington office represented the tenant.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Poway I has acquired a 10,200-square-foot Raleigh office/flex building for an undisclosed amount through a 1031-exchange with 1648 North Market Drive LLC. The property is located at 1648 N. Market Dr. Branham Stovall, II, of Raleigh-based Drucker & Falk Real Estate represented the buyer.
CHICAGO — Cape Horn Group has completed three sales at The LaSalle Wacker, a 41-story, 414,000-square-foot office condo tower in Chicago. Greaves Travel acquired the entire 25th floor, relocating from a building it owned at 304 W. Randolph, which is scheduled to be demolished to make way for The John Buck Company’s proposed 222 W. Randolph office tower development. Eric Sorenson and Chris Tarzon of The John Buck Company represented Greaves Travel; Larry Cohn of Cape Horn Group negotiated the purchase on behalf of the building owner. Also, Scheff and Associates, a court reporting and stenographic services company, purchased 1,053 square feet of office space on The LaSalle Wacker’s 19th floor. The buyer was represented by Tom Reeves of Dreamtown Realty. Finally, Ernest P. Chiodo acquired a 621-square-foot office space on the eighth floor. Cape Horn Group was represented in-house by Noel Ross.